So I put down $1,000 last week to order a new Subaru from the factory:

2013 Legacy 3.6R Ltd. w/ Moonroof, Navigation & Eyesight

I actually have some equity in my 2010 Legacy 2.5GT Ltd. lease (I didn't know that was possible). They are giving me $19,500 for my lease trade-in which is ~$2,500 over the residual, so that money goes toward the new lease like a down payment.

The possible problem is that they can't give exact lease numbers until the car arrives in a couple months because there could be different promotions, different rates, etc. My fear is that I am have no room to do any further negotiation when it comes time to sign because I already put $1,000 down to place the order. I had to put the $1,000 down when I ordered my 2010 too (I think it is a Subaru thing, not a dealer thing) and I felt like I got screwed a bit back then because they already had my $1,000 and had no motivation to "win" my business at that point, and it was my first new car lease.

This time around I got them to bump up the amount for my trade-in and bring down the sale amount from the MSRP some. Do I have any more room for negotiation when the car comes in? Does anybody have any insight in to this situation? Thanks!

MN3.6R

02-25-2013 12:42 PM

Typically all numbers are done before they even order you a car. Why do you want more negotiation room when it sounds like you already negotiated. You obviously said you liked the price, and so they ordered it. I would say no you are locked in and rightfully so. They don't order cars for people to back out or want to change something once it arrives. If you signed, its yours. -Ex Acura Sales Manager

LosAngelesLGT

02-25-2013 12:59 PM

MN3.6R as a ex sales mgr do you need the VIN# to lock in the promotionals or is that just more sale jargon excuses?

MN3.6R

02-25-2013 02:15 PM

After posting this I was trying to think back to those days. It has me kind of confused. But to answer your question..I can not remember, it's been almost 3 years since I was in that business. The thing is, they don't order cars based on nothing, if they agreed on selling price and trade in, the only thing that could change is the lease rates and residual of the 2013. If understood the OP it was do I have negotiation room once the car comes, I am pretty sure he does not. The lease terms will not vary much from today, so I would see no concern as to having the deal go south.

thejammonster

02-25-2013 05:09 PM

Thanks for the responses.

@LosAngelesLGT, they couldn't lock in any promotions because they didn't have a VIN. On the sheet I signed it says 'Ordering' for the VIN.

@MN3.6R, I am not expecting them to lower the sale price by thousands or anything, I am just wondering how it generally works. They said we would go over the lease terms when the car arrives which makes sense, but the order form I signed makes no mention of the MSRP, sale price, trade-in value, etc. I don't expect them to try to screw me since I am a repeat customer. I am more wondering if they have me by the balls because I already had to pay $1,000 for the car to be ordered.

DrD123

03-03-2013 11:07 AM

I guess it's different with a lease, but when I ordered my LGT, we negotiated for the price before I gave them a penny. (pricing hadn't been officially released yet, so we negotiated as a dollar value away from dealer cost) they hadn't cashed the check when I actually bought the car - they still had it (so it became part of what I paid on delivery) - I think the dealership holds it just in case you flake out and leave them hanging to cover the additional costs of holding the vehicle until they can sell it on their own. It also gives them the flexibility to return it to you if you have what they consider to be a reasonable explanation to backing out (e.g., lost your job, medical emergency, etc.)

Ellesedil

03-05-2013 12:34 PM

Yes, I also had a "negotiated" price (read: MSRP - only flexibility was on my trade-in, which was minimal) before the dealership submitted the order. Also, you should read the paperwork you signed. My deposit was non-refundable. No one can force you to write a check for $30,000, but they sure can keep the $1,000 you already gave them.

rice_rocket

03-05-2013 03:15 PM

I specifically said while I was negotiating on our most recent vehicle, subject to approval from the wife, approval for the final trade in value. They could definitely not lock in any deal without the VIN, AND the car in their possession, even though the car was coming from another dealership that the owner.. owned.. they said it had to be physically here, inspected, and approved by me before we continued paperwork. I still had plenty of chance to re-negotiate, which I did.

Again, when they asked me to put $500 down to "lock the deal down" I still said, look, if my wife doesn't like the car, or I still do not like the trade in, then I'm not taking it. He gave me initial numbers based upon a theoretical trade in of my car, since I assured them it was pristine and had xxx miles. They actually even said "your car is really only worth 18.5 but we'll honor 19.5 like we assumed" when it came close to the end, I said honestly 19.5 is too low, and every other place I was looking at with the competing cars told me they could give me at least 20 so I wouldn't settle for less.

Long story short, I guess it's all in the wording, they only made me and the manager sign a paper, but it did say all those "conditions" and then they found the car. So hell no would they be able to keep my money, I would call a dispute on my cc company and I'm sure lots of shit would hit the fan for the dealer "holding people hostage" when there were no final papers signed.